On November 15, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law. According to the White House, the IIJA will play an important role in rebuilding and improving roads, bridges, rails, ports and airports, expanding access to clean drinking water, ensuring every American has access to high-speed internet, tackling the climate crisis, and more. Of particular interest to employers in the construction, transportation, retail, manufacturing, and technology industries, during Fiscal Years 2022-2026, the IIJA will provide $550 billion in new investments for various transportation, water, power and energy, environmental remediation, cybersecurity, and broadband initiatives. Various important trade groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, had supported this bill.
That said, the IIJA, while it does not raise corporate tax rates, contains other important revenue-generating provisions that may impact employers negatively, especially regarding certain tax credits. This article flags some of the important provisions in the IIJA for employers to consider.
Revenue-Generating Provisions
Employee Benefits/ERISA
The IIJA retroactively eliminated the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) for employers subject to closure due to COVID-19 with respect to eligible wages paid after September 30, 2021 (other than for an eligible employer that is a recovery start-up business). The ERC was a payroll...
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